Is XMas the same as Christmas?

Updated on December 27, 2011

Where did the word Christmas come from?

December is a busy month for most, it's a time to rejoice for those who believe, a time to just celebrate for those who don't, not to mention the ones quite busy wanting to make the whole thing just go away. Either way, it's quite a busy month for just about everyone. In the hustle and bustle of it all, not too many know where the word Christmas actually came from, we just know it's time to decorate, hang the lights, buy knew clothes and get ready to party...

The word "Christmas" is a contraction of two words "Christ's mass" and is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.

So How did Christmas become XMAS?

well, we've all heard of these "LOL, OMG, etc..", is that what happened with the word Christmas?, it was just shortened?, when you take a look at the abbreviations of everything else, they make sense, but when you look at the abbrevation "XMas", it doesn't. How does one letter "X" replace an entire word "Christ". Many say it's the non-believer's way of removing the word Christ from the entire thing. I was curious and decided to do some research on the matter, I do have triplets at home at a really curious age and I figured I better be well armed when I'm faced with that question:

In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter Χ (chi), is the first letter of Christ (Χριστός). Since the mid-16th century Χ, or the similar Roman letter X, was used as an abbreviation for Christ. Thus, Xmas is an abbreviation for Christmas.

So, for those non-believers that think they are slick, better come up with a new trick! Christ is the reason for this season and no matter what, without Christ you cannot spell Christmas.﻿